My View 2012 (September)

Happy Birthday to my faithful Sammy who turns 6 years old on September 13th! Who remembers my Name the Puppy blog back in 2006? Feather and Allybama came up with the names (Sam/Samson) that we eventually picked for our new, furry baby. He's now a robust dog in his prime and my best buddy. Happy Birthday, Sammy.

I see you are getting the rainy gray gloom too. We did have a peep of sun but it left as quickly as it came. We have mowed our yard more this summer than I can remember in years. Back when I was doing it I had to mow every week, now that Max has retired and he takes on the job its not needed as much. True, we moved to a different place but it just does not seem fair! Oh well, so it goes, give & take.

My river birch has been dropping leaves a bit all summer, due to the lack of rain but it's really picked up this past week. I'm back to sweeping the front stoop every day. Not that it does much good; 30 minutes later, it's a mess again.

I haven't seen much else dropping but it won't be long.

The grass has already slowed down and Hubby is heaving a sigh of relief. Oh, he'll have to mow a few more times before it's over and done with but the end is in sight.

LOL, Janet. I guess I tasted enough of 'em to immediately associate the taste of beets with dirt!

Sandi, I know cats' hearing is acute but unzipping a banana?

Beth, I noticed that the oak next door doesn't have much of an acorn crop this year. Winter before last, there were so many acorns on the ground, you could barely walk around it without twisting your ankle.

Janet; I remember sampling a mud pie once and promptly getting sick.... definitely not as good as the coffee ice cream kind!

Actually, our oaks have very few acorns for the second year in a row; it must be very tough on the wildlife that depend on a good fall crop to get through the winter. You may be seeing the brown on the oak leaves. All the oak leaves are wind/salt burned at the edges from getting pelted with strong ocean breezes all summer.

Sandi; I know that our critters have gone to greater lengths to raid bird feeders in the last year. I hadn't read about the wasp; I was guessing that our local trees were stressed from drought and heavy winds.

Reading Janet's comment about the acorns reminded me of an article I read earlier today from a mail I received from RSPB. Apparently a small wasp, called Andricus quercuscalicis,has affected the growth of the acorns, so the RSPB are wondering if the Jays and squirrels will venture into more gardens in searching nuts this winter.

Our Snickers just likes to smell what we are eating. She is a finiky eater when it comes to her food. One would never know it from looking at her. One of our dogs was the ejector type. She had mixed kibble & there was one flavor she did not like so out the side it'd go, just like a spent cartridge. Molly does not eat at her bowl, she'll get a mouthfull and go elsewhere to eat it then coming back for another load until she is full. The new kitty seems to be "normal" so far.

Bugjust how many mudpies did you taste? I can remember tasting ours on big sister dares. The two of us spent many hours making pies and decorating them. Then when finished they had to go to the cellar with all of Mothers & Grandmothers canning. They left us a special shelf for our stuff.

It was butterbeans I could not eat! Love them now.

Beth, It looks like your oak trees have lots of acorns on them. That means plenty of food for the little critters. With the cooler nights you should really start seeing lots of color change soon. Some of ours has started. It seems early to me this year.

Another cat I had, a cream point Persian, loved bananas and he would come running from wherever he was in the house if he knew were unzipping a banana! He could even tell if you opened the top of a banana yogurt... !

Sandi; Triton, my current cat, is fussy about what he eats too, but Sammy would love Chinese take-out rice - although he was leave the veggies on the plate (or the floor); it never ceases to amaze me that a dog can take a mouthful of food, chew, spit out just the veggies and swallow the rest.

I had a cat many years ago who loved rice. If I had a Chinese rice takeout, and left a little of the rice, he would eat every grain, but pick out all the peas, or onions, or mushrooms and push them to the side of his dish!lol

Bug; When I was growing up we had a cat who ate ANYTHING- watermelon, pickles, potato chips, beets, cake, you name it, this cat ate it. It was a lucky thing for us kids who were doomed to sit at the dinner table until our plates were clean; as soon as everyone else who gone and we were left alone, staring at whatever was left on our plate, we would entice the cat over and holding a hand under the table, fed the remains of our dinner to her. If it wasn't for that cat, I'd still be sitting at the table, yet.

We had a cat years ago, when I was in my 20's, that just loved ice cream. I don't think we knew about chocolate being toxic at that time but I don't recall ever giving him anything but vanilla.

Anytime you fixed a bowl or cone, Winky was right there. No matter where he was, he'd magically appear. How he knew, I have no idea. He would sit as close as he could get and intently watch you move the spoon or cone to your mouth and back again.

After a while, he'd reach out and paw the air, as you did it. He never grabbed at it. It was like he was saying, "Gimme, gimme." Which we always did, eventually. We'd either pour the last bit into a small chicken pot pie tin or let him lick the last dab from the remains of the cone.

"You want some lick-lick?"

The answer was always "Yes!"

None of the cats I've had since then were as enthralled with it as Winky was. I've offered it to them. Some would take a lick or two and walk off. Others would sniff and turn up their nose.

Another thing that would bring him running and into his 'Gimme' routine was the crinkle of the potato chip bag. He liked roasted and boiled peanuts. Popcorn.

He was a funny cat. He had the biggest and most unique personalities of all the cats I've ever had, I think.

Linda; Oh, yes! Sammy is a HUGE fan of ice cream! (As am I!) He'd probably enjoy almost any flavor but I just get vanilla for him. The local ice cream shops offer free small bowls of ice cream for dogs so he gets his ice cream treats a few times every summer.

My kitty isn't a fan of fish or anything like that be he does like the occasional Gold Fish cracker and I recently found some kitty treats (Feline Greenies brand) that he seems to enjoy.

I hope you get cooler weather soon- I well remember the heat in Florida and so looking forward to January and February when the temperatures finally cooled down to the 70's and 80's! Now those temperatures are my summer highs and I'm still complaining! We're slowly cooling down for fall and I'm breathing a sigh of relief. Phew! Cooler air- finally! :-)

Morning, Beth - I just saw the comment about Sammy and the ice cream cone. Is that something he really likes? That's just funny. Does he have a favorite flavor?

I cooked some salmon last week, and tried once again to entice Dixie with some lovely fish. She wasn't having any of it. I don't get that cat at all. I thought I was getting her to eat canned food, but that finally just stopped. So, I think - maybe a little chicken? some tasty salmon? No way. I briefly considered filet mignon, but I have a feeling that wouldn't do any better.

Maybe I should try Spam! I may have been going too high class. ;)

It's still hotter'n'Hades here. Well, not actually, but we're all impatient with 90. It's time to get a move on into fall! I did suddenly realize I have to make a move toward my aunt's in KC sooner rather than later. They had their first ice at the end of October last year. I think mid-October is about the latest I should try to go. So, it's time to put in more hours at work, finish some things up and make plans! That's part of the reason I closed my blog temporarily. I need to really focus, at least until I get back home.

Hope your weekend is great. I have a little repotting to do, need to take the car to be washed, and so on and so forth. Standard weekend chores!

Happy birthday to Sammy! It took me a couple of minutes to figure out one of those dogs was stuffed - and I don't mean Sammy after all his treats! You know, Dixie was a good kitty, too. She never was much of a scratcher, she didn't jump up on kitchen counters, all of that. She just didn't want to be picked up or sit in your lap - still doesn't. I just told her I was writing about her and her ears picked up. ;)

I'm so eager for cooler weather. We were supposed to have a bit, but... it never arrived. It will.

Have you ever read a book called "Beautiful Swimmers: Watermen, Crabs and the Chesapeake"? I just heard of it - I may look at Barnes and Noble or Half-Price Books just to see what it is.

Have a good day. It's Friday, after all - maybe not such a good thing in all parts of the world, but ok around here. ;)

Sammy was such a sweet puppy- never destructive, never had a problem house training him; in fact, at 9 weeks old, he has US trained to let him out by ringing the bell that hung from the door knob with his nose! He only had two indoor accidents up until that time and after that, he was fine. He still has almost every single toy he's ever been given because he's not a chewer. He's been a wonderful dog. :-)

Finn; You didn't miss it- his birthday was today! Time does go by fast, doesn't it? I've been here on WU for almost 10 years!

RobDaHood; Thanks for the birthday wishes!

Janet; No ice cream cone, but there is one coming up in his near future! He did get several treats today and I didn't want to give him a tummy-ache.

My friend named her kitty on the spur of the moment at the Vet's, too. She'd just been calling her little kitten Baby but when questioned at the Vet's, she didn't want to give that name (since he wouldn't be a baby all his life) and so she blurted out "Um- Bandit!" Of course, he's never called that. :-) He's still Baby Cat.

Happy Birthday to your furry buddy. Did he get his ice cream cone?I had not thought about that when I named our new kitty Sam. It just popped in when the vet receptionest asked for a name. Now I hate to change it because they sort of chided me when I changed Mollys so many times. Here we just call him "the little one".

Janet; Yesterday's weather was wonderful! A cool north wind kept temperatures comfortable and dry but today is back to late-summer weather. I like fall and spring best, too! Can't wait for mulled cider weather! :-)

Sandi; Yes, today we'll reach the low 70's and the sun is shining brightly! We have a strong breeze, too, so this is good laundry-drying weather!

Your weather gizmo says your weather today is pleasant, sunny and warm, as it is here. In fact, I think I better get. Out there and cut the grass before the rain arrives tomorrow, thanks to Leslie! s long as it comes Friday and not Saturday, when I am attending my sisters marriage cemony! Lol

Bug; I love the idea of a sun room, too; it would be great for starting seedlings and overwintering plants brought in from outdoors, maybe trying a pot or two of tomatoes or some greens... and, of course, for drying laundry. :-)

Are you still experiencing chilly temperatures?

I've had plenty of clothes freeze on the clothes line, too, and brought them indoors to thaw/dry on racks. It's sort of like taking cardboard off the clotheslines- especially back in the day when my babies were in cloth diapers!

Janet; This is my bed linen day; I just love the scent of sheets off the clothesline!

Funny how different areas have different names for the same room! But, no one up here would call it a Massachusetts Room- so it's just a sun room or, if you're highfalutin', a solarium.

I have just brought in the bed linens after them being out all morning. It is/was a great day for laundry or any other outdoor activity today. I could not spot a cloud anywhere as i was folding sheets.

When we lived in FL those glass enclosed rooms were Florida rooms, up here they call them Carolina rooms. No matter what they are called I also would love one. Our back porch would be perfect for a convert as it gets the morning sun. I could open the french doors and in winter it would help heat the family room. Thats one of my dream projects ;)

Bug; I have a wall-mounted drying rack that I installed over the gas heater that heats most of my apartment. It dries my clean laundry- including sheets and towels (and wet mittens, hats and scarves all winter) during the indoor drying season, and I just love it! It saves quite a bit on my electric bill. We do have some days above freezing where laundry could be hung outdoors, but the sun is so weak & days are so short at that time of year, that it's not enough to actually dry anything completely. Besides, winter is pretty rough on the clothesline so I take it down and store it in the garage during the cold weather months.

Sandi; How nice to have the conservatory to dry your laundry!

Our fall weather seems to have arrived, too, and I'm enjoying it! Sammy & I took a wonderful hike in the woods this morning and I took a few photos of the changing leaves and fall flowers. I hope it's not too cold where you are.... it seems as though you've had more than your share of chilly weather this summer.

I have a folding clothes horse, which I use for the smaller items, but any clothing item I hang on coat hangers and then hang those on the frames that hold the blinds in the conservatory. So as long as the sun shines a little, it doesn't matter how cold it is outside, they will dry in the conservatory.

Hi Beth, it was hot for us yesterday, too, but the cold, autumnal weather arrives tomorrow:-(Hope you have a good week.

What would we do without those folding clothes racks and over the door hangers?

You don't hang anything at all out in cold weather? I know you get a lot colder than we do down here in the winter but I'd have thought that some days would be sunny, windy and enough above freezing that you could get something on the line. Like sheets or towels. With it just being you, I imagine that you wouldn't have a large amount of clothes to wash and probably easier to hang those inside.

We had a nice, cooling rainstorm last night and more rain coming through today- no laundry on the line for me until at least tomorrow. The sun is already noticeably weaker; it's taking longer for wet laundry to dry and sometimes, I have to finish drying them on racks indoors. It won't be long before it's all dried indoors, again. But, I'm still eagerly awaiting fall. Yesterday was like being tossed back into the middle of hot & humid summer- ugh! I was helping a friend to putty and paint windows- holy smokes, it was toasty! I hope it's cooler when we finish the job next weekend!

Bug; Sammy just wags his tail and gives every indication of smiling- as well as a dog can. His 6th birthday is on the 13th and he will no doubt get more ice cream as part of the celebration. :-)

Linda; Great photo! I glanced at a few more of his pictures and they are wonderful! I'm going to go back and revisit that link when I get more time! Thanks for posting it here!

Sandi; We have a few leaves coloring and dropping here, too. I'm very much looking forward to fall coming on in earnest; not only because it's my favorite time of year but because this summer's weather has been brutal for those of us without A/C. My fans have had a good workout this year. This morning is pleasantly cool, sunny and breezy but it's supposed to warm up to the mid-70's and get muggy both today and tomorrow. Good-bye, summer! You can leave any time, now!

Beth, one of the photographers I follow on Flickr is named Lou Vest. He's a ship channel pilot and his photos of the tankers, big ships and such are just phenomenal. Tonight, he had a new set up. I thought you'd get a real kick out of this one.